Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1887-12-03
More About Edison's Photograph.


Edison has been talking again
about his photograph, this time to a
New York World reporter, and we
give below pc ton Of the informa-
ton given to the reporter as to what
this wonderful machine will accom-
plish:
my photograph will occupy about
as much space on the merchants
desk, or at the side of the desk, as a
typewriter does. 1t will work auto
matically by a small electric motor,
which runs at perfectly regular rate
of speed, is noiseless, and starts or
stops at the touch of spring. Sup
pose the merchant wants to write q
letter; he pulls the mouthpiece of the
phonograph to him, starts the motor
with a touch, and says what he has
to say in an ordinary tone of voice.
When he is done, he pulls out little
sheet and rolls it up for the mail.
The recipient places this sheet in
similar photograph, touches the mo-
tor spring, and the instrument will at
once read out the letter in a tone
more distinct. clearer, more charac-
teristic of the voice of the writer than
any telephone you or / ever heard.
The monograph voice is not a loud
voice, perhaps not more than twice
as loud as the sound you get from a
good telephone, and an earphone will
be necessary. This, however, may
not be an objection, inasmuch as peo-
pie do not always want to have their
letters heard all over the Office. In
aiming for loudness in the phono-
graph, | went astray in my first ex-
pertinent. / should have tried for
clearness. The presentapparatus will
satisfy any one who is half satisfied
with the telephone. OF course, there
areno disturbances in the phonograph-
ic message such as those made by in
duction along telephone wire; and
as the apparatus will repeat the letter
over and over again, it is possible tc
understand every syllable, even in q
noisy Office. was so overcome with
the success of my first instrument
finished about six weeks ago, that ]
doubted whether could make anoth
er equally as good, and l went tC
work at once to do so. My SECOND
instrument works as well as the first
and / have forty workmen employed
in making the tools for the manufac
ture of the first lot of 500 phono
graphs. They will cost $50 apiece.
snow for some speculation as t.
what people may do with the phono
graph. / am confident that it will b,
found in the Office of every busy man
am confident that the editor and tn
reporter Of the future will neve
think of losing time by writing will
apen or debating to stenographe
when the printer can set type bette
from the dictation Of the phonograpl
than he can from copy. 1 have al
ready perfected an apparatus whicl
allows the Photographic message t
be given out in pieces of ten word
each. The printer touches a peds
with his foot, and the phonograp
says ten words. If he sets the te
correctly, he touches the pedal agai
and gets ten words more. If he is i
doubt he tries another pedal, whic
makes the photograph repeat. 1
the future some method may b
found of combining the phonograp
and the telephone-that is to say, til
photograph may be made so delicat
as to take down the sound from
telephone and give it out again whe
wanted. As yet / have not attemp
ed any such thing. The vibrations {
the telephone diaphragm are too del
cate for use in the photograph. /
business Ethink that the phonograp
will be used everywhere. Outside {
business it is hard to say exactly
what uses it may be put. AS it wi
record and repeat any kind of music
III sound, and as the process of dupl
eating the phOnOgram, as l call m
sheet of metal which has passe
through the photograph and becom
impressed with certain sounds,
very cheap, the phonOgram copy of
lecture, Il book, play, or an Opel
need cost hut triilC.
"FOr music I know that you wi
I Il. .